


The Shade of Greatness

by Im_The_Doctor (Bofur1)



Category: The Avengers (2012)
Genre: Childhood Memories, Gen, Loki Has Issues, no happy ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-07-12
Updated: 2013-07-12
Packaged: 2017-12-19 07:03:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 360
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/880844
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bofur1/pseuds/Im_The_Doctor
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>And where, on Asgard, dwell hope and truth?<br/>In childhood's uncorrupted heart;<br/>Alas! too soon to guileless youth<br/>The world doth its dark code impart!</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Shade of Greatness

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ImGaladriel](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ImGaladriel/gifts), [Majesticone](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Majesticone/gifts).



> Here's the prompt: "Loki remembers a time when he and Thor played together and fought together, and saw Odin smiling. He thought Odin was smiling at both of them and then realized it was for Thor."

Loki groaned as he skidded across the hard rock earth, and then he began to laugh softly.

“Where is the Tesseract?” Thor demanded.

“Oh, I missed you too,” Loki sighed.

“Do I look to be in a gaming mood?” Thor growled, stepping menacingly toward him.

Loki slowly got to his feet. “You should thank me. With the Bifrost gone, how much dark energy did the Allfather have to muster to conjure you here, to your precious Earth?”

Mjölnir clanged like a warning bell as it hit the ground, and Thor suddenly had Loki by the back of the neck. For a split second they simply stared at each other.

“I thought you dead,” Thor declared. His face was a mask that the god of mischief couldn’t quite read.

“Did you mourn?”

This time Thor’s tone hitched unmistakably when he answered. “We all did. Our father...”

Loki stopped him with a finger. “ _Your_ father.” Shoving Thor away he muttered, “He did tell you of my true parentage, did he not?” He paced, massaging the aching place in his back.

“We were raised together. We played together, we fought together,” Thor said, pleading as he always did. “Do you remember none of that?”

Loki paused for a split second. He saw it before his eyes.

_A vast green land, and two children wrestling and fighting, laughing together. The King of Asgard, smiling broadly as he watched them._

_Not them. No, never “them”. He was smiling at_ him _. Odin always smiled at Thor._

Loki turned to face his “brother”. “I remember a shadow,” he said bitterly. “Living in the shade of your _greatness_. I remember you tossing me into an abyss, I who was and should be king!”

As he and Thor bantered Loki promised himself that he would remember nothing else. The joys of childhood were nothing compared to the shadow, he decided. Thor’s choice was basest sentimentality, to be a child at prayer for Loki’s lost soul. Loki almost laughed at the thought. World domination was his choice. He was separate. He had his own code. The horrors were part of him, and they would never go away.

Loki was glad.


End file.
